La poupée

Unseen in the UK since it had art house screenings in 1962, this surreal comedy was dug up for the Nouvelle Vague season at London's National Film Theatre in May. The print had turned pink. The plot that eventually develops has a revolutionary required to impersonate the assassinated dictator of a mythical South American country. Polish star Cybulski plays both parts. But along the way a scientist creates a cyborg of an industrialist's wife; there are songs and basic special effects; and a Greek-style chorus comments on the action. The wife and her double are played by Canadian female impersonator Sonne Teal. This was his only film before he died in a plane crash. The chorus is also a man in drag (Dufilho). Everyone seems to be speaking French, but most have been re-voiced. The message seems to be about corruption, but it's hard to grasp. There's lots to look at, however. The mad extravagance (big crowd scenes) may have influenced Jodorowski, and there's some very avant garde jump cutting. If a decent print could be found, La Poupee could be a big rediscovery.

La Poupee (or The Doll) is a broad political satire where a revolutionary has to take the place of a dictator.

Zbigniew Cybulski, so good in Ashes and Diamonds, plays, poorly, two roles here. He is both The Colonel, an over-the-top dictator of a South American country and also a well-meaning revolutionary. When the dictator suddenly dies, the revolutionary has to take his place, since both the government officials and the revolutionaries find it necessary for the Colonel to live a little longer. The reason why I did not quite get. Cybulski overplays The Colonel in an annoyingly broad way, yet he underplays the revolutionary to the point that the character seems to have no personality at all.

In addition to the main plot, the film has a science fiction angle with a scientist, critical of the Colonel, developing a machine which can produce a double of anything. The scientist produces a double of a rich woman and then somehow enters the double and uses her to give voice to the revolution.

Neither of these storylines are very interesting. The humor is too broad (there is a particularly annoying actor in drag serving as a chorus). Admittedly, the film features some stylish moments, but whatever statement it is trying to make gets lost.